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Artila
The artila is a multi-segmented, wormlike creature that first made its appearance in Geneforge 1. It falls under the category of Magic Creations, and is the first creation of that type a Shaper will make. Characteristics Physical The artila's body is physically frail and segmented, with a fully-grown artila made up of ten to twelve segments. Although Shaper documentation claims they move by lateral undulation, like a snake, they are shown in-game to move more like inchworms, with their lower body contracting to bring the tail forward, then pushing off with it. Despite being worm-like, the skin of the artila is scaled, and sheds bi-annually. The artila spits acid from its four-fanged mouth. To combat the constant flow of acid, the fangs are designed to be highly resistant to wear. Artila are endotherms, drawing most of their body heat from the environment. The average length of an artila is 5 spans (9'; 2.74m); its height is 5 spans (3' 9"; 1.14m); and its weight is 140 stones (1960 lbs ; 889kg). The main use of artila is in long-range combat. They are specialized to spit a magical bolt of acid at their enemies. In Geneforge 5 this was changed, with artila spitting poison instead of acid. While artila are mainly for ranged combat, they do have fangs to protect themselves in close quarters. Due to the artila's frail constitution, their bites are far less dangerous than their acid or poison spit. Artila are very weak to melee attacks, although they have decent resistance to magic attacks. Even with this resistance, they are still physically frail, and have very few hit points. Even if they resist the inital bolt from another artila, for example, the following acid damage will usually kill them. Mental Artila are described as having relatively refined minds, although they are not capable of speech, communicating by hissing and growling. Although they are said to display 'minimal rogue tendencies,' they have been known to go rogue when separated from their master for extended periods of time. History Strategy These creations are the simplest of all magic creations, but they are very useful in the early game. An artila costs 12 essence to create, and five more for a two-point Intelligence boost. While expensive for beginner Shapers, artila are a worthwhile investment. They have a long range attack that deals magic damage first, and acid damage on subsequent turns, similar to the Searer spell. In melee combat, their fragility makes them an easy target, so keep them on the back line to ensure they aren't downed by a wayward thahd. By the mid-game, artila are usually replaced with the more versatile and durable vlish. Artila are not hard to kill, only to get to. They can strike melee combatants on the approach, and flee backward when being approached by Battle Creations. It is best to either attack them with ranged weapons that deal Physical, Fire, or Ice damage, or simply rush them before they get a chance to get more than one or two shots off. For a Shaper, it's helpful to make several creations to screen you from acid shots, since you're only slightly more durable than an artila yourself. A common tactic amongst most players with four or more Battle Creations is to surround the artila on all four sides. This prevents it from using its ranged attack, forcing the creation to rely on its weak bite. A variation of this tactic is to corner it, requiring only two or three Melee Creations to finish the job. Trivia *Artila have been seen to be quite intelligent, intelligent enough to get bored. *Rogue artila with "fang" in their name seem to be somewhat of a trend, given the presence of Greenfang and Splinterfang in Geneforge 4. Known Artilas *Greenfang *Splinterfang *Withered Old Artila See also *Plated Artila *Searing Artila *Inferno Wyrm *Venomous Artila *Vlish External links Category:Drops Category:Creations